Family feud ends in arrests for Delbarton men

DELBARTON — An ongoing feud that began well over a year ago between two Delbarton families escalated into physical violence last week that resulted in the arrests of two males and two females.

According to the criminal complaints filed by West Virginia State Police Senior Trooper J.K. Harris states that Chad Adkins, 32, and Andy Lee Hunt, 52, Crystal Nadine Fouch, 39, amd Wanda Ferrell, 35,who are next door neighbors, were taken into custody after the trooper was dispatched to the location on a report of a dispute/altercation.

Adkins allegedly threw a rock and struck Crystal Nadine Fouch in the forehead, causing a small abrasion and contusion. This crime supposedly happened after an unidentified white male climbed a ladder overlooking the 10 ft. privacy fence that surrounds the backyard of Chad and Carolyn Adkins and proceeded to throw a large piece of wood at Chad Adkins, which did make contact. Fouch is accused of slinging another piece of wood onto the Adkins’ property, which struck a juvenile female child in the head, causing injury. When questioned by the state trooper, Fouch, Hunt, and Ferrell refused to provide the name of the male who had fled the scene.

Adkins was arrested and charged with one count of battery. Hunt was arrested on 2 counts of obstruction that stemmed from him yelling at the officer about the direction in which the investigation was going and is said to have approached the trooper in a threatening manner. The defendant then turned and stated he was going back inside his home and was ordered to stop by the officer, which he refused to do. Trooper Harris then took control of Hunt by grasping his wrist in order to prevent him from going inside the residence and Hunt responded by verbally and physically resisting. The defendant was then physically restrained and was placed in the police cruiser to be transported to the Southwestern Regional Jail along with Fouch, who was charged with one count each of battery and obstruction and Ferrell, who faces charges of a single count of obstruction.

Child Protective Services were also called to the scene to investigate the hostile environment created by the conflict between the families that was said to be an unfit condition for the minor children of both the Hunt and Adkins families to be exposed to, since it creates a potential safety risk.

The four defendants were arraigned before Mingo County Magistrate Pam Newsome. Hunt and Fouch were released from custody after posting a $2,000 bond and Ferrell on a $1,000 bond. Hunt remains incarcerated at this time on a $1,000 bond due to a previous criminal charge.